Abstract: In this facilitated dialogue, Maxine Hong Kingston and Michael Solorio, both descendants of Chinese railroad workers, and Dr. Sue Fawn Chung, a historian of Chinese-American history, discuss the history and legacy of Chinese railroad workers who helped construct the U.S. Transcontinental Railroad between 1863 and 1869. Conducted by historian Dr. Laura Dominguez, the conversation brings together personal and scholarly perspectives on migration, labor, and memory within Chinese American communities. Kingston describes her grandfather’s migration from southern China to California to work on the Central Pacific Railroad and reflects on family stories, heirlooms, and oral traditions that shape her understanding of his life and legacy. Solorio recounts the experiences of his great-great-great-grandfather, Lim Lip Hong, who worked as a crew leader on the railroad and later settled in San Francisco. He describes Lim’s cross-cultural marriage to a Native American woman, his leadership roles, and the family’s later involvement in community advocacy in Chinatown. Dr. Chung provides historical context on group migration, working conditions, the 1867 Chinese railroad workers’ strike, and post-railroad discrimination, including the effects of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The interview also explores Chinese workers’ relationships with Native Americans, their adaptation to life in the American West, and the continuation of family and community ties across the Pacific.

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